Flipping Furniture DIY

Hey all!
With all the downtime Corona gave me, I figured it would be a perfect time to flip that goodwill furniture I had planned to refurbish before everyone was Safe At Home. Here is the before and after of two different pieces, but the same process is applied to both!

I’m loving how the printer cart came out, looks so much more sleek now. I LOVE the stereo, and I feel like I could keep tweaking it to be cooler and cooler, but I want to pass it on to someone who can make it play music again.

One thing I wanted to try was doing a spray bottle of bleach on the cane to give it a more whitewashed look vs the orangey color. Am I crazy? Has anyone tried flipping furniture like this?
Anyways, here is a before and after of both pieces, and my process for painting and waxing each one. This is by no means a tutorial of the most correct way, this is just what worked for me.

Flipping Furniture Process

My furniture flipping process is generally:

1. Wipe down everything with mineral spirits to get dust/cobwebs/corona/whatever off.
2. Sand, even if I’m using chalk paint. If you paint over varnish sometimes it shines through so sanding helps a ton, and it’s nice to just have a fresh surface. The sponge sanders I used were perfect for getting into the beveled edges and tight corners. I have been sanding by hand with different sandpapers but if you can splurge for an electric one it would save a ton of time.
3. Wipe down again, you don’t want dust getting into the paint.
4. Paint! I use 2 coats, with 24 hrs in between. I have been using just a brush I had lying around for canvas but would recommend something bigger! There’s a 2 pack at Walmart that has a chalk paint and wax brush for cheap that I bought recently! If you want to splurge find a brush that doesn’t shed so you don’t have to pick out the bristles later on….whoops.
5. Let dry for TWO DAYS before you wax. A full 48. I waited 24 hours and it wasn’t totally dry and the paint dragged.
6. Wax! Use a tiny amount on your brush tips, long and light-handed strokes work best. Otherwise, it takes forever to buff out the uneven wax.
7. Buff to desired shine. Chalk paint and the wax I had are both a matte finish, however, the wax can be buffed into a finish with more shine with a little elbow grease.

Here are all of my supplies! (soft lint-free rag for buffing not shown… I used a kitchen towel)

Mineral Spirits. Fine Sand Paper. Rough Sand Paper. Waverly Paint.Waverly Wax.

If you want to see a more in-depth guide on how to flip furniture in different finishes, using different materials, start with this article!